Author: Marian Chandler

Nominations for RA and RHD  positions on PREDICT Executive

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We are now calling for nominations for the Research Assistant and the Research Higher Degree positions for the PREDICT Executive.  These positions are usually held for 1 – 2 years and are selected by the existing Executive.

The nominations period closes on Friday 12th December 2020.

To be eligible,  you need to be an existing PREDICT member.

If you wish to nominate yourself please email Catherine.wilson@mcri.edu.au with the following details:

  • Your title and name
  • Your craft group and current position held
  • Your primary organisation
  • The state you are based in
  • Attach a brief CV

Please write a brief description of why you wish to be part of the PREDICT Executive and what skills you can bring to the position.  If you are a Research Higher Degree candidate please tell us what RHD you are undertaking and describe your research area of interest and your long term goals.

Taking part in the PREDICT Executive involves:

  • Attending approximately 10 monthly meetings per year (approximately 4 face to face and 6 teleconferences if no pandemics!)
  • Previewing the executive agenda then actively participating in meetings to give an independent opinion/advice
  • Bringing issues of importance to the network, to the meeting agenda for discussion
  • Reviewing and commenting on new studies when they are presented to the Executive
  • Following up on actions deemed necessary at the meetings
  • Reviewing and commenting on issues via email/telephone in between meetings as required
  • Helping to develop and then reinforcing PREDICT research guidelines and policy with members locally
  • Maintaining confidentiality in relation to sensitive issues discussed
  • Chairing sessions at the PREDICT members meeting upon request

Please feel free to contact Cate Wilson if you have any questions or wish to discuss involvement in anyway.

WRAP IT UP FOR 2020

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2020 has been a unique and challenging year for everyone during the COVID 19 pandemic. Despite this PREDICT research has continued to progress and there has still been significant growth in our network.  It also marks the first year of our 2020-2024 NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) collaboration which will continue to support a program of excellent research in the years to come.

Please join us in reflecting on these and other outstanding achievements:

  • PREDICT now has 162 members – in the past year we welcomed 40 new members.
  • PREDICT has continued working actively with consumers in our research. Our mental health consumer group recruited for “The Kids are not Okay” program of research have been actively involved in the development of the Mental Health Delphi project, the PEACHY – O and PEACHY-M projects, and the Enhanced Safety Planning project. The Perth Children’s Hospital ED consumers have been involved in our PROMPT Bolus and our Research Priorities studies.  Lots of valuable insight has been gained.
  • 54 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand have been actively involved in PREDICT research!
  • The Acute Head Injury Guidelines are completed and will be available soon!  Congratulations to the team for finishing
    the marathon!
  • This year we have two committed teams undertaking Cochrane reviews which are now well underway including:
    “Triage tools for detecting cervical spine injury in paediatric trauma patients”
    “Parenteral medication for the management of acute severe behavioural disturbance (ASBD) in the emergency department”
  • Data collection was completed for the BellPIC RCT (after 5 years), the PERN pneumonia and the PARIS II project! Congratulations to these teams.
  • We continue to undertake work collaboratively with the international PERN Pediatric Emergency Research Network) group on the PERN COVID 19 project, the PERC BIPED study (Dexamethasone and Adrenalin for bronchiolitis), and the PAINT study (Pain Management and Sedation in Pediatric Ileocolic Intussusception: A Global, Multicenter, Retrospective Study).
  • Other international studies include the PROMPT Bolus Study (US and Canada) and the SONIC study (Study of neck injuries in children: A prospective observational study to develop a new or validate existing international clinical decision rules for children presenting to the emergency department with suspected cervical spine injuries).
  • Voting was undertaken by 73 members to select a new PREDICT Executive committee of eight members.
  • The PREDICT Executive reviewed and endorsed 11 new projects, most of which are now in various stages of development.
  • We continue to mentor 6 PhD scholars and two MDs.
  • There have been 7 successful grant applications with combined funds of $8,176,376.
  • Twenty-four papers were published in various Journals including the PLoS 1, Emergency Medicine Journal, Journal of Paed Child Health, BMC Paediatrics and others!
  • The annual PREDICT members meeting was held online via zoom and attended by 53 members.

Thank you to all members and collaborators for your contributions and support.

New PREDICT publications

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The following manuscripts have been accepted for publication.  Congratulations to the authors.

Lim J, Acworth J, Craig S, Borland M, Middleton P, Moore K, Shetty A, Babl FE, Lee R, Wilson C, Than M.
Where are Children Seen in Australian Emergency Departments? Implications for Research Efforts”
Emergency Medicine Australasia. November 2020.

Florin TA, Tancredi DJ, Ambroggio L, Babl FE, Dalziel SR, Eckerle M, Mintegi S, Neuman MI, Plint AC, Kuppermann N on behalf of the Pediatric Emergency Research Networks (PERN) Pneumonia Investigators.
Predicting Severe Pneumonia in the Emergency Department: A Global Study of the Pediatric Emergency Research Networks (PERN): A Study Protocol.
BMJ Open. November 2020.

Wilson C, Babl F.
Factors predictive for computed tomography use and abnormality in paediatric head injuries in Australia and New Zealand.
Emergency Medicine Australasia. November 2020.

Getting to know you – meet Michael McCarron

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Our “Getting to Know You” segment ensures PREDICT members are aware of new members, their interests and areas of expertise and where they are located.

This month we introduce Dr Michael McCarron from The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.  Welcome to PREDICT Michael.

“I am a UK-trained Paediatric Emergency Medicine specialist currently working as the Postgraduate Fellow in Paediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and as a retrieval doctor for NETS NSW, with the aim of meeting the FRACP requirements to be recognised in Australia as a PEM specialist.

My research interests include models of care for children who present to ED with non-urgent medical problems, adolescent health in the ED, mental health in the ED and paediatric retrieval medicine. My current project examines the impact of retrieval team composition (paediatric/ adult HEMS/ flight nurse/ paramedic) on morbidity outcomes in paediatric trauma patients who require a secondary retrieval from the hospital at which they present to a Paediatric Trauma Service in New South Wales. It will also be the subject of my thesis submission for the Master of Philosophy (Medicine) degree at the University of Sydney.”

Publicity for PeaChY in WA

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Some great publicity with commentary provided by Meredith Borland from Perth Children’s Hospital, appearing in The West Australian (22/10/20).  Under the headline “Youth mental health boost” it highlights the increasing rate of children with severe mental health issues currently accessing emergency departments, and outlines the “ground-breaking research” to be undertaken by PeaChY on behalf of PREDICT which will investigate treatment options for these children.

 

 

PREDICT members meeting held 28/10/20

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The first “virtual” PREDICT members meeting was held last Wednesday 28/10/20.  It was well attended with 53 members “zooming” in to hear the latest updates on research being undertaken by the network.

Whilst nothing beats a real face-to-face meeting complete (with catering and time to catch up with friends), this was a great opportunity to connect with our growing membership base and to plan for an exciting year ahead.

Thanks to all the presenters, chairs and those who attended the event.  Special thanks to Marian Chandler, Cate Wilson and Simon Craig for the preparatory work and coordinating proceedings on the day.

If you weren’t able to attend, powerpoint presentations will be made available in the “secure staff area” of the website (accessible via your login) in due course.  A combined written report on all the status of all the projects is also available.

Voting outcome for PREDICT executive 2021-22

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  • Nine people nominated themselves for eight positions on the next PREDICT Executive (2021-2022).
  • 73 votes were received over a four week voting period.

Congratulations to the following PREDICT members who were elected to be part of the next PREDICT Executive:
Shane George, Simon Craig, Natalie Phillips, Sharon O’Brien, Bronwyn Griffin, Amanda Williams,
Meredith Borland and Elliot Long.

We look forward to working with our new executive committee.

Calls for nominations of the Research Higher Degree and Research Assistant candidates will be made soon.

 

 

 

PREDICT members meeting 28/10/20

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The PREDICT members meeting will be held on Wednesday October 28th 2020 online via Zoom, time: 11.00am – 2.00pm (AEST).

Please find AGENDA attached. Due to time constraints this year, presentations will be very focused and questions contained.  Written reports on the status of all PREDICT projects and the relevant project contact, will be made available to all members.

An outlook invitation has been sent to all PREDICT members which contains the Zoom link to join the meeting.  All you need to do is to accept the invitation. 

We hope you can join us on the day.

Questions?
Please contact Catherine.wilson@mcri.edu.au